A Boy And His Houndoom
by Thetimetel
Summary: The second draft of my 'Singed' story, A Boy And His Houndoom is about how Singed and his Houndoom change the Unova region, and how the Unova region changes THEM.
1. Prologue

Whew. That took a hell of a lot longer than I thought it would.

ANYWAYS, hi there! This is the second (possibly third, depending on what constitutes as a draft) draft of my 'Singed' story.

I don't want to spoil anything before you read it, so I'll keep this comment short.

* * *

Cody sighed as he looked down Route 29. Despite it being night, the path was perfectly visible thanks to the light of the moon. He was going back to his house in New Bark Town to visit his mother, if only to say hi. Once the visit was over, Cody was going to aim for his fourth gym badge all the way in Ecruteak City.

Cody and his brother Rodney had left home about five months ago to become Pokémon trainers. Just like their father before them, both Cody and Rodney wanted to become Pokémon masters. While the two of them stayed in touch with each other, Cody hadn't heard much from Rodney recently. That was also part of the reason he wanted to go home. He wanted to see if his family had heard anything from Rodney.

But as he walked past the gates that led to Route 46, Cody was surprised when a rather thin 10-year-old boy with short brown hair and brown eyes walked out of those same gates. Cody could only smile as he noticed the boy's green t-shirt and his blue denim shorts. It didn't take long before the boy noticed Cody, and a large smile appeared on the boy's face. "Well well, who's that hideous kid looking at me? Hi Cody!"

Of course, Cody only smiled wider at Rodney's comment. The two of them loved to pick on each other like that. It was an old joke that just never got old. "Are you looking at a mirror again Rodney?"

After the two twins shared a laugh, Cody asked Rodney how life was treating him. Rodney gave a grin as he showed a startled Cody his badge case. Cody could only stare in envy at the four badges Rodney had gotten. But the last time Cody had met Rodney, he only had _two_ to Cody's _three!_ But Cody was careful to keep his voice kind as he congratulated his brother. While Cody tried to hide his own envy, Rodney stuck his tongue out at Cody. "So what about you, Cody? Just how strong have you gotten?"

It wasn't until Rodney got out a pokéball that Cody realized what Rodney was saying, and in spite of himself Cody grinned. "Stronger than you, I bet!"

As Rodney gave an exaggerated smirk towards Cody, Cody grabbed out his Quilava's pokéball. The two of them got farther down the route before they chose a nice open spot to have their battle, and almost immediately tossed their pokéballs into the air. "_Quilava!_"

"Let's go Hypno!"

Cody grinned as the pokéballs opened up at the same time. So Rodney _still_ said that cheesy rhyme every time he sent out Hypno? The pokéballs released their bright lights, which formed quickly into Quilava and Hypno. The two Pokémon greeted each other, with Hypno waving towards both Cody and Quilava. In return Quilava got on his two hind legs and wiggled one of his front legs towards Rodney and Hypno. Once the greetings were over, the two Pokémon got into their fighting stances.

"_Murkrow!_"

The twins and their Pokémon looked up immediately, and Cody was shocked as a Murkrow soared over Cody's head as it traveled towards the forest to Cody's left. As Cody watched the Murkrow disappear, he grinned when he heard Rodney's shaky voice. "Oh man, that was ominous! Uh Cody, maybe we should wait to have this battle later, I kind of-"

Oh, for crying out loud! Cody rolled his eyes at his brother. If there was one thing the two of them differed on, it was the concept of luck. While Rodney believed in lucky charms and bad omens, Cody wasn't as gullible. "It's a bunch of superstitious nonsense Rodney. Seriously, how could a bird flying over someone's head somehow cause the person bad luck?"

While Rodney didn't look convinced, Cody didn't give him a chance to respond. "Besides, what are you worried about? It was _my_ head the Murkrow flew over, not _yours. _Even if that bad luck thing _was_ true, it would just mean you will win this fight. Of course, we both know that's not possible."

Rodney gave an unwilling chuckle at that, but after a bit more teasing from Cody Rodney was back in his normal mood. In an attempt to keep Rodney cheered up, Cody let his brother have the first move. He was surprised when Rodney gave him a grin. "Oh, that's a _big_ mistake Cody! Hypno, use Future Sight!"

Cody flinched as Hypno closed its eyes and began chanting. 'Future Sight'? Hypno must have learned that one recently, because Cody certainly had never heard it before. But as Hypno stopped chanting, Cody decided that the attack must have failed. Still . . . it sounded like 'Future Sight' may allow Hypno to predict Quilava's next move. As such, Cody decided to take a more indirect approach. "Smokescreen!"

Quilava immediately focused, and smoke quickly began emanating from Quilava's back. Soon the smoke surrounded Quilava, hiding him from view as the smokescreen continued to grow. But as Cody looked at Rodney, he found that Rodney was grinning as he told Hypno to use psychic. Wait, was 'Future Sight' an attack used to ensure the next attack would hit?

But that was disproven when Quilava did not suddenly fly out of the smokescreen. So the Psychic must have missed . . . it didn't explain what Future Sight did, but in the end Cody decided it didn't matter. The smokescreen had grown to envelop the area around Hypno, without enveloping Hypno itself. Quilava _must_ have been in position by now. "_Flamethrower!_"

While Rodney told Hypno to dodge, and Hypno certainly tried to, Hypno didn't know where the flamethrower was coming from. As the smoke behind Hypno suddenly lit up, Cody heard Quilava give a '_QUIL_' as Hypno turned around with a startled cry. Flames shot out from that part of the smoke, and Cody cheered as the flames slammed into Hypno with enough force to knock Hypno over.

Cody was almost certain the fight had been won now. Of course, that was when the battlefield was hit by a small gust of wind. It wasn't enough to do any damage, and was clearly an act of nature, but it also blew away quite a bit of the smoke, enough that Quilava could _just_ be seen in the smoke, running to a new position. The problem was . . . could Hypno see Quilava?

"Hypnosis!"

Hypno scanned the smoke that was left, and Cody cringed when he saw Hypno lock eyes with Quilava. He could only gnash his teeth as Hypno began swinging his pendulum back and forth, chanting in its tired voice. "Hypno, _Hy_pno, _Hypno._"

As the last of the smokescreen blew away, Cody cringed as he saw Quilava's sleeping form fully revealed to Hypno. This was how Rodney loved to fight using Hypno. Once he got the opponent to sleep, next up was always-

"_Dream Eater!_"

Poor Cody could only cringe as Hypno began chanting again. Quilava immediately let out a groan as Hypno's body healed from the earlier flamethrower. Still, Cody grinned. He could still turn this around, it wasn't over-

"_**AVA!**_"

What? The Dream Eater had already ended, why did Quilava suddenly cry out in pain? Quilava looked pretty beat now. But . . . "What just happened?"

Cody looked at his brother in confusion to find a large grin on Rodney's face. "Hypno learned Future sight not too long ago. It's a neat attack that damages the opponent three turns later. It's pretty accurate too. Hypno, use Future Sight again!"

As Hypno began swinging the pendulum back and forth, Cody abruptly grinned at his brother. "I've got a few new tricks up _my_ sleeves too! Quilava, _Sleep Talk!_"

Rodney let out a startled '_Huh!?_' as Cody's sleeping Quilava got back on its feet and charged at Hypno. Cody grinned as Quilava leapt up into the air and began rolling, soon igniting its back as it rolled towards Hypno. This was Quilava's Flame Wheel!

Hypno tried to dodge, but it spent a little bit too long finishing up its Future Sight attack. Cody was quite pleasantly surprised when Hypno was sent flying backwards from the strike. Quilava had gotten a critical hit! As Hypno rolled to a stop, covered with cuts and bruises, Quilava broke out of the roll and once again lied down. So Quilava was still asleep, huh?

Rodney clearly was startled by the Sleep Talk, but he quickly regained his composure. "Hypno, Dream Eater!"

As Hypno began chanting again, Cody immediately ordered another Sleep Talk. He was surprised when Quilava sent a Flamethrower in Hypno's direction, and was more surprised when Hypno managed to _just_ lean out of the way of the Flamethrower. The flamethrower itself went into the nearby forest, but Cody continued to pay attention to the fight. While Hypno had partially healed itself, both Hypno and Quilava looked pretty beat.

Cody almost cheered when Quilava's eyes opened up. He was awake! That meant that Hypno wouldn't be able to use Dream Eater again! Of course, Cody had to act quickly before Hypno could nail Quilava with another Hypnosis. "_Smokescreen!_"

Quilava quickly created more smoke as Rodney ordered Hypno to use hypnosis again. As Hypno began looking in the smoke, Cody found himself almost _praying_ that Hypno couldn't find Quilava.

But what happened next caught everyone off-guard. Cody only heard Rodney give a startled cry before a searing pain raced through Cody's hand. As flames raced past Cody, having caught his arm on the way, Cody immediately moved his hand and clutched it close to himself, trying to figure out what happened. Quilava, Hypno, and Rodney all looked behind Cody in complete shock, and it wasn't long before Cody himself turned around too.

Over by the trees that surrounded this route was a Houndoom. The Houndoom gave a low, menacing growl towards the four of them, and almost immediately Cody's Quilava got between Cody and the enraged Houndoom. But . . . what had just happened? Cody could only cringe as his burnt hand aggravated him. Had the Houndoom actually _attacked_ him?

The Houndoom itself looked like just about any other Houndoom, but there was one major difference. A large scar ran across the right side of the Houndoom's face, and the Houndoom was keeping that eye closed. In spite of what the Houndoom had just done, Cody almost felt sympathy. Of course, that sympathy disappeared when his hand throbbed in pain again.

Cody's Quilava wasn't going to wait for answers, though. With a fierce cry, Quilava sent a large pillar of fire at the Houndoom. To Cody's surprise the Houndoom simply smirked and stood still, allowing Quilava's Flamethrower to hit. But even when Quilava's Flamethrower _did_ hit the Houndoom . . . the Houndoom didn't even _flinch_. Quilava eventually stopped with its own cry of shock.

The Houndoom simply grinned wider before opening its mouth and firing a Flamethrower of its own at Quilava. There was something . . . _different_ about this flamethrower. It looked . . . _stronger_, for lack of a better term. To Cody's shock, the flamethrower slammed into Quilava with enough force to push Quilava back quite a ways. When the Houndoom finished, Cody was shocked to find Quilava unconscious. "What . . ."

As Cody tried to figure it out, he got yet another surprise. He saw movement behind the Houndoom, and as it got closer Cody suddenly realized it was a person. As the person walked closer, Cody was able to see that it was a teenage boy a few years older than Cody and Rodney. The boy had short black hair that looked like a complete mess. Underneath that hair were two yellow eyes.

The boy's clothing would have been at home on a beggar. The black t-shirt had large gashes in it, and was clearly stitched back together in a few parts. The boy also wore a pair of denim shorts that were a pale blue color, looking just as worn as the t-shirt. He was really thin, _dangerously_ thin in fact.

As the boy got closer, Cody was able to see more specific features. The boy's face looked very rough, with some patches of dirt clinging to it as well. But what was most obvious was three thick, ropey scars on his left cheek that ran parallel to each other. The scars went from just in front of his ear and ended maybe two inches away from the boy's mouth. It alone made him look very dangerous.

But what really threw Cody off was the expression on the boy's face. In complete contrast to the fierce scar on the boy's face, his expression was little more than a timid smile. The boy was holding his left arm behind his back as he walked up to the Houndoom. His right arm was currently in front of him, and he appeared to be almost _cradling_ a strange black capsule. As Cody watched, the boy cringed and held his left shoulder for a few seconds. The Houndoom looked up at the boy, who simply gave the Houndoom a smile before addressing Cody. "Hi there."

Cody almost automatically returned the greeting, gritting his teeth when his hand throbbed with pain again. Almost immediately the boy's smile turned sympathetic. But before the boy could say anything, Rodney spoke up. Rodney sounded angry. "Who are you? Do you realize your Houndoom just _attacked_ my brother?"

The boy's smile faltered slightly, but soon came back. "My name is Singed. As for Houndoom's attack, well"

At this Singed lifted his left hand so Cody and Rodney could see it. Cody flinched as he realized Singed's hand had clearly been burnt, and very recently. Undaunted, Singed continued to speak. "An arm for an arm, right? Your Quilava must have sent a flamethrower into the forest, and it just happened to hit me. Houndoom was just getting a little payback."

Cody flinched. When did Quilava send a flamethrower in that direction? Wait, when Quilava was using Sleep Talk! That was the only time one of the flamethrowers headed into the forest! Cody could only blush as he tried to apologize, but Singed simply gave a polite smile. "Hey, accidents happen. I've been burnt before."

While Cody was willing to leave it at that, he cringed when his hand throbbed again. Singed gave another apologetic smile before he spoke. "A Houndoom has toxins mixed in with their flames, so you should have your hand looked at by a professional."

Cody immediately paled at that. "_Toxins?_"

Singed blushed as he nodded to Cody. "It's not fatal or anything like that, but your hand won't stop hurting until you get the antidote for the toxins."

While that helped to calm Cody down a little, it certainly didn't do the same for Rodney. Cody flinched as Rodney spoke up, his voice laced with anger. "So let me get this straight. Your Houndoom just _burned_ my brother's arm with poisonous flames, and you think that you can just say 'I'm sorry' and we'll just forgive you?"

Singed blushed as Rodney waited for an answer. While Cody didn't really feel like Singed deserved to get chewed out, he knew there was no stopping Rodney. "It's _your_ Houndoom, so it's _your_ responsibility! If you can't control it then it shouldn't be in a position where it can injure people! I-"

The change in Singed's expression was so quick that Cody wasn't certain it was _possible_. He went from looking extremely embarrassed to glaring viciously at Rodney in less than a _second_. As Rodney flinched, clearly not having expected such a large shift in personality, Singed went on the offensive. "First off, stop calling her _my_ Houndoom! She is not my _slave_, and I don't feel like cramming her into a tiny little ball like you 'trainers' do! She is my _friend!_ It's only natural for her to retaliate if I'm hit by an attack even if the attack 'wasn't intentional'! Secondly, if you're going to go _that_ route, then let me remind you that _I was hit first!_ Why aren't you telling your brother off for letting his Quilava fire into a forest? I can understand that you're angry your brother got hurt, but don't you _**DARE**_ blame it on Houndoom!"

Cody and Rodney didn't say anything as Singed continued to glare at them. Cody hadn't expected such a large shift in Singed's personality, and it was clear that Rodney hadn't expected it either. However, Singed then turned around and began walking away, with his Houndoom at Singed's left side.

That was when Rodney's Hypno spoke, sounding rather amused. Singed abruptly froze in place, and Houndoom turned around and glared viciously at Rodney's Hypno. While Rodney's Hypno was clearly startled, Houndoom took a deep breath. Singed made no move to stop his Houndoom as it finished breathing in.

"_**DOOM!**_"

There was no time to react. While the attack was clearly meant for Rodney's Hypno, Cody and Rodney went flying backwards. What Cody couldn't figure out was what the attack or the trigger was. He had never heard of an attack like this. It was almost like Cody, Rodney, and Rodney's Hypno were blasted backwards by the sheer _sound_ of the Houndoom's bark.

Cody and his brother landed back first, shaken and bruised but otherwise unharmed. Rodney's Hypno on the other hand landed face-first, and was clearly out for the count. Cody looked at Singed as he heard Rodney call Hypno back into his pokéball, and immediately realized they had made a mistake somewhere when he saw the rage etched into Singed's face.

Of course, Rodney soon shook off his own shock and demanded an explanation from Singed. "Now what about _that?_ That was a completely unprovoked attack! What's your excuse _this_ time?"

It was a big mistake. Cody knew the instant Rodney said that that there was going to be trouble. This time Singed gave the two of them a cruel grin, as did his Houndoom. "'Unprovoked'? What do you say to that Houndoom?"

Cody gulped as the Houndoom gave a low, malicious growl in reply. Singed let out a slight chuckle as he nodded. "I agree. I suppose the last question is this. Do we want them flame-broiled or roasted?"

Both Rodney and Cody flinched as the Houndoom took in a deep breath. Was Singed actually _ordering_ his Houndoom to attack? This was bad!

But as flames erupted from Houndoom's mouth, Cody was startled when he heard a deep voice from behind him give an order. "_**HYPER BEAM!**_"

Cody saw Singed flinch before a massive yellow beam raced passed Cody, cutting directly through the Houndoom's Flamethrower as it quickly closed the distance. The Houndoom quickly stopped its own attack and just _barely _managed to jump out of the way as the beam slammed into a tree behind Houndoom and Singed. Both Singed and Houndoom looked at the tree in shock as the beam tore through it, then tore through seven more trees before dissipating into nothing.

Both Cody and Rodney turned around to find a Noctowl lightly landing on the ground between the twins, its gaze focused on the Houndoom. This was . . . Cody and Rodney both smiled when they saw a man walk past them, putting himself in-between the twins and their assaulters. Rodney chuckled before he greeted their father, who smiled back at them before focusing on Singed and his Houndoom.

Singed and his Houndoom were still looking at the line of trees behind them, in specific the eight trees that had a large hole through them. It was only when Singed spoke that Cody realized how nervous Singed was. "E-even for a _hyper beam_ . . . to just cut through her flames like that and _still_ have the force to bore through that many trees . . . I haven't seen that kind of power since . . ."

Cody and Rodney watched their father as he cleared his throat. "Noctowl and I will take that as a compliment. However, I would like to inform you that these two boys here are my _sons_, and I do not like watching my sons be bullied by a stranger."

Singed gulped, but to Cody's surprise his Houndoom closed its eyes in focus. The event wasn't missed by Cody's father, who nodded towards his Noctowl. "Mirror move."

Noctowl nodded towards Cody's father, and soon closed his eyes as well. At the same time the Houndoom roared the word '_**DOOM**_', Noctowl bellowed out a '_**NOCT**_'. Cody was surprised when both Singed and his startled Houndoom were launched into the air. But at the same time, no one on Cody's side had been hit. Had Noctowl's attack actually powered _through_ Houndoom's? That meant Noctowl was _definitely_ stronger!

Singed gave a cry of pain as Cody watched him hit the ground hard. Singed's Houndoom had a bit more luck, and landed on its feet. But Cody was startled when Singed quickly got to his feet, and both Singed and his Houndoom bolted towards Cherrygrove city. Cody's father immediately commanded Noctowl to follow them, and to use foresight to keep them from escaping. Noctowl immediately took off, and soon red lights came from its eyes as it dutifully searched for Singed and Houndoom. It wasn't long before Noctowl adjusted his course, and its eyes locked onto a specific area.

"Now what the _hell_ is going on here?"

Both Cody and Rodney immediately looked at their father, but Cody gasped as his burnt hand throbbed in pain. Singed had been telling the truth before. The pain wasn't lessening at all. As their father looked at Cody's hand, Cody heard Rodney give his interpretation of the events. "That jerk's Houndoom burnt Cody with some toxic flames, and he snapped at me when I told him that the _least_ he could do was apologize! Then he fakes that he's going to walk away, but his Houndoom suddenly pulls a sneak-attack against us! And when I note that it did so, he simply orders it to attack us with a flamethrower!"

When Cody saw the anger in his father's eyes, he knew he had to say something. "It wasn't like _that_! See, Rodney and I were having a Pokémon battle, and one of Quilava's flamethrowers went off into the forest and apparently burned the boy. His Houndoom retaliated, and when Rodney got defensive about the attack Singed - the boy - snapped at him, explaining that Houndoom wouldn't have done it if Singed hadn't gotten hurt. When Singed made to leave, apparently Hypno made a bad comment that set Houndoom off, and Houndoom attacked Hypno. We got caught up in the attack too, but I don't think it was meant for us."

While their father gave an 'ah', Rodney clearly didn't agree with Cody. "So what about that last attempt to barbecue us!? That was _definitely_ not provoked!"

Cody gave a meek grin as he reminded Rodney that Rodney had spoken up at the second attack. "Maybe Singed was offended by what you said."

Both Cody and his father exchanged grins as Rodney gave a slight grumble, but before Rodney could speak their father spoke up. "So it was a provoked attack. Perhaps sending out Noctowl was a bit too much overkill on my part. Arcanine could have done the job without completely overpowering his Houndoom, and wouldn't have spooked them half as badly as Noctowl clearly did."

As he spoke, their father reached into a pouch and grabbed out an antidote, which he sprayed on Cody's hand. "Still, I don't believe he should just be allowed to walk away. While it _was_ provoked, that Houndoom of his has quite a temper, and he needs to learn to not allow his Houndoom to retaliate from an accidental attack."

Cody was surprised when the pain in his hand finally started going down. Really? A simple antidote was all that they needed? He guessed that made sense, but . . .

"_Honchkrow!"_

Cody, Rodney, and their father all looked up to see a Pokémon Cody himself had never seen before. It looked a lot like a Murkrow, but . . . well, with a good deal bigger chest and overall body. "What is that?"

Cody's father responded as the Honchkrow passed by them, headed in the same direction Singed and his Houndoom had fled. "It's a Honchkrow, a rather new Pokémon found. It's the evolved form of Murkrow, requiring a Dark Stone to evolve. They don't normally come out in the open like this."

The Honchkrow gave a loud, low cry, and Cody was startled when he heard several Murkrow respond to the call. The Murkrow emerged from the trees, and were soon following the Honchkrow. Cody watched as the Honchkrow and its followers eventually flew out of sight towards Cherrygrove city.

"I don't like this . . ."

Both Cody and Rodney looked at their father, who pulled out one of his pokéballs. Soon he called out his Arcanine, and their father spoke to Cody and Rodney as he climbed onto Arcanine's back. "I'm going to follow Noctowl. Are you two going to come with?"

Both Cody and Rodney reached for their own pokéballs, and it wasn't long before the three of them were riding their Pokémon towards Cherrygrove city. Rodney held on to his Ponyta's fiery mane firmly, and he grinned towards Cody. Cody, who was holding on to his Dodrio's middle neck, returned the smile as Rodney commented on Dodrio. "Is that the same Pokémon that was always fighting with itself as a Doduo? Oh _man_, now there's _three_ of them!"

Cody nodded with a smile on his face. "It actually makes it a whole lot easier. The third head - this one"

At this Cody patted the middle one's head. When he noticed the other two heads turn expectantly, Cody laughed and patted them too. "Makes a great tiebreaker."

While the middle head turned and gave a 'Do' of contentment, Cody and Rodney both focused when the head on the left called out, focusing ahead as if it saw something. Cody followed its gaze, and was surprised to find they were catching up to the Honchkrow and its lackeys. The father and his sons all watched as they slowly caught up to the Honchkrow, and eventually one of the Murkrow turned its head and saw them.

That Murkrow immediately called out, and the Honchkrow immediately turned its head so it could see them over its shoulder. It gave a '_Krow!_', and both Cody and Rodney were startled as all but one of the Murkrow dropped out of the flock and headed directly for the three trainers. Cody heard his father curse before he addressed Cody and Rodney. "Looks like Honchkrow doesn't want us to reach Cherrygrove City. Knock down the Murkrow before they have a chance to attack!"

Cody nodded, and as he ordered Dodrio to use tri attack he heard both Rodney and his father command flamethrowers from their own Pokémon. All three of Dodrio's heads moved so they formed a triangle, and soon Cody grinned as his Dodrio fired a large white triangle at the Murkrows. Out of the twenty Murkrow, fifteen of them managed to avoid the triangle, but it knocked out the other five. It actually surprised Cody. These Murkrow must have been really low level for just one strike like that to knock them out.

He was further convinced when Rodney's Ponyta managed to take out seven with one flamethrower, and their father's Arcanine wiped out the last eight with her flamethrower. The Honchkrow continued to watch them over its shoulder, as did the one Murkrow that hadn't broken formation. After the Honchkrow made a nodding motion to the Murkrow, the Murkrow nodded back, and Cody was surprised when there were suddenly _hundreds_ of Murkrow in the air. Was this double team?

Cody flinched when he saw each and every copy become cloaked in a harsh light. This was sky attack! While Cody, Rodney, and their father all ordered attacks on the Murkrow, they only ended up hitting fakes. When the Murkrow all dove towards the three of them, Cody gulped. The sky attack was clearly ready.

Some of the Murkrow dove towards Cody, some dove towards Rodney, but the brunt of the massive group of copies was diving towards their father and his Arcanine. However, their father demanded an extremespeed from his Arcanine, and using his speed the Arcanine passed through each and every one of the Murkrow that was aimed at him. But they were surprised when all of the copies he hit faded away to show the Murkrow had not been in that group.

Now realizing the Murkrow was either in the group headed towards Rodney or Cody, Rodney quickly had his Ponyta use flamethrower on all of the Murkrow headed towards him. But each and every one of them faded away, revealed to simply be clones. That meant that the group headed towards Cody had the real Murkrow in it!

Knowing that, Cody quickly ordered Dodrio to use tri attack again. While Dodrio got into position, Cody flinched as Dodrio's attack abruptly halted. There was no time to even flinch as the lead Murkrow slammed into Dodrio, proving to be the real Murkrow. While all three of Dodrio's heads shouted out in pain, Cody flinched as the tri attack finished, hitting the Murkrow with enough force to knock it out.

Still, Cody could feel Dodrio quickly bringing itself to a stop. That hit had done a _lot_ of damage. He could feel Dodrio's trembling muscles, and when Dodrio got to a slow enough speed Cody quickly jumped off. Once Cody was off of Dodrio's back Dodrio gave a light groan before lying on the ground. Both Rodney and their father stopped and headed back towards Cody, and after a little bit Rodney's Blissey was using softboiled on Dodrio.

When Cody looked up, he cringed when he saw the Honchkrow had gotten out of sight again. But . . . Cody still didn't understand. "Dodrio started the tri attack, but . . . what happened? It was like the attack just suddenly _stopped_."

While Rodney only shrugged, their father sighed. "The Honchkrow must have realized Murkrow was in trouble, so it intervened. It used a relatively new attack called quash, which causes the affected Pokémon to move last. As such, Dodrio was forced to strike _after_ Murkrow, allowing Murkrow to strike unimpeded."

"But why?"

Both Cody and his father turned to see Rodney clearly in thought. "I don't understand. Why did the Honchkrow have the Murkrow attack? Was it dumb luck on our part, or is it one of Singed's Pokémon?"

Cody flinched at that thought, but his father sighed. "It doesn't matter. What we know right now is that it's trying to get to Cherrygrove City, and it doesn't want us to get there. Dodrio, how are you feeling now?"

Cody's Dodrio got to its feet and gave them all a curt nod. Cody nodded back, and as Rodney put away his Blissey and got back on his Ponyta Cody got back on his Dodrio. Their father spoke again, having never dismounted Arcanine. "Rodney, your Ponyta still knows quick attack right?"

Rodney nodded, and their father looked at Cody. "Does Dodrio know any speed moves, like Agility?"

Cody nodded. Their father then looked back at the trail, and grinned. "We're going to sprint right past that Honchkrow then. If we do it fast enough then the Honchkrow won't be able to react in time, _or_ catch up."

It wasn't long before that plan was in motion. It almost turned into a race between Arcanine, Ponyta, and Dodrio. Cody held on tight as the world seemed to fly by them, and he grinned broadly when they quickly caught up to and subsequently passed right under the startled Honchkrow.

If it was a race, then the finish line would have been the gate for entering Cherrygrove city. Arcanine entered the gate first, followed closely by Ponyta and Dodrio. Unfortunately, Dodrio _just_ missed second place, and Rodney cheered as all three of the Pokémon came to a stop, passing right through the gate and obviously startling the gatekeeper before finally stopping in Cherrygrove city.

Almost the instant they were in Cherrygrove city, all three of them saw where Singed must have been. A large cone of red light was coming from the sky above the beach and lighting up the sand. As the three of them had their Pokémon trot over there, Cody was surprised to find that there was a small crowd around the outside of the red cone of light produced by Noctowl.

Inside the light of course were Singed and his Houndoom. Both of them were clearly nervous and exhausted, and looked like they must have run the entire way here with Noctowl on their tail. Singed in particular looked like he was almost ready to cry. Houndoom was letting out a low growl towards the citizens, clearly trying to find a way to defend its master.

But as Cody, Rodney, and his father entered the red cone of light caused by Noctowl's foresight, the entire situation changed in the blink of an eye. The water behind Singed and his Houndoom erupted, and everyone cried out in shock as at least twenty Gyarados emerged from the water. Noctowl immediately stopped its foresight and prepared a hyper beam, but let out a cry of shock as a strange eye-pattern covered it's body. Cody recognized the move as Mean Look, and realized the Honchkrow had finally arrived with another twenty or so Murkrow lackeys following behind it.

The entire scene gave way to chaos as the Gyarados began using hyper beam, deliberately attacking the buildings of the city. While Cody, Rodney, their father, and quite a few other trainers tried to fight them, every Pokémon they sent out was quickly ensnared with a mean look from the Murkrow, forcing the Pokémon to fight the Murkrow first.

It was a nightmare. The Honchkrow itself was fighting their father's Noctowl, and every time the number of Murkrow was getting low the Honchkrow would bellow out its name, causing several more Murkrow to come out of the forest and join the fight. The Murkrow continually used Mean Look on every trainer's Pokémon, stopping the Pokémon from fighting the Gyarados until they knocked out all the Murkrow. What was more, the Honchkrow was clever, holding its own against even Noctowl by using foul play, an attack that used the opponent's strength against them.

The fight seemed to drag on for hours, but finally Noctowl got the upper hand and managed to knock out the Honchkrow with a sky attack. Without the Honchkrow's ability to call for more Murkrow, it wasn't long before the number of conscious Murkrow went all the way down to zero, and _finally_ the Pokémon were able to fight the Gyarados.

The entire city was a wreck. There were only two buildings in total standing by the time the trainers all managed to drive back the Gyarados. Just when the last Gyarados retreated, Cody realized Singed was gone. As he noted that to his father, they were surprised when a different trainer pointed towards the water, where the Gyarados were leaving.

There, on one of the Gyarados' heads, was Singed. He and his Houndoom were both sitting there, looking back at the city. They were too far away for Cody to make out much else, and it wasn't long before Singed, Houndoom, and the Gyarados simply appeared to fade out of sight.

* * *

Okay, now as far as beginnings go, I know I'm not too good at them.

I was informed last time that I REALLY made my character a Mary Sue, and after going through the five stages of grief over a two-month-long period of time I finally realized they were RIGHT, so I took down the 'second' draft and am going to start it from scratch.

The biggest problem I've had in working on the rewritten plot - and I admit that it's my own damn fault - is that I didn't realize how much I was RELYING on Singed being a Mary Sue for the first part of the story. The simple answer is that, to answer the question of how he gets to his destination, I decided that he simply couldn't be stopped.

I was almost paranoid of making the same mistake this time. However, I didn't want him to just be a pushover either. That is why he and Houndoom WIN against Cody and Rodney (Granted, it wasn't really what you could call a testament of their strength), then immediately afterwards they get completely outmatched by a much stronger trainer.

Please let me know if you think I did a good job.

(I'm also starting to have my Author's Notes be Align Centered to help distinguish them from the actual story. Let me know if it helps or not.)


	2. First Impressions

It's been a while, hasn't it?

* * *

Burgh frowned as he watched the news. The headline was 'Cherrygrove City in Ruins', and the news reporter straightened his tie before he spoke. "Good morning Unova. We've got a startling story from the Kanto region. Last night Cherrygrove City was razed to the ground by a _bizarre_ combination of Murkrow and Gyarados attacking the city. A Kanto reporter is on the scene."

To Burgh's surprise the news switched to the Kanto reporter. A female reporter was standing in front of a burned building with a Pokémart sign in the wreckage. It was only when Burgh looked at the time on the camera that he realized it was a recording from a few hours ago. "As you can see behind me even the Pokémart didn't survive the surprise attack. Last night a large school of Gyarados worked in tandem with a large murder of Murkrow to completely destroy the city. Several people are now homeless and are working hard to clear up the mess left behind. Miraculously no one died in the chaos, although a few people were injured. The destruction of the city coincided with the appearance of a boy and his Houndoom, whom were being chased by Gold's Noctowl."

Wait, _Gold?_ Burgh immediately paid more attention when Gold himself walked into view of the camera, clearing his throat. "My sons were on their way home to New Bark Town when one of them apparently injured the boy by mistake. The boy's Houndoom attacked in a rage, and the boy made no attempt to stop it. After I found and helped my sons out we chased the boy to Cherrygrove, falling behind because a Honchkrow and its Murkrow lackeys attempted to stop us. When we finally caught up to him in Cherrygrove a large number of Gyarados abruptly attacked the town, with the Murkrow forcing all trainers to battle them instead of the Gyarados with Mean Look. It is our belief that the boy, Singed, escaped with the Gyarados during the chaos."

The news reporter cleared her throat as she brought the mic closer to her face. "So you believe this Singed ordered the Pokémon to attack?"

Gold sighed as he shrugged. "I'm saying that it would be one heck of a coincidence that the Gyarados, Honchkrow and Murkrow attacked when we had Singed cornered. What is more, the Gyarados appear to be ferrying him across the ocean. Following that line of logic I believe that I can safely say that the Gyarados, Honchkrow and Murkrow attacked _because _we had Singed cornered. Either Singed is trying to flee the Johto region, or he was planning on leaving Johto from the start."

Burgh frowned as the reporter echoed Burgh's thoughts. "So you're saying that he could appear at any region?"

Gold nodded, and the recording ended. The male news reporter soon appeared again and addressed the camera. "Because of how dangerous this school of Gyarados is all cities connected to the ocean in all regions are being asked to keep an eye out for a large group of Gyarados ferrying a thirteen year old boy with a Houndoom headed in their direction, and citizens are heavily suggested to avoid contact with the group. The boy has black hair and yellow eyes, three large scars on the left side of his face, and is reported to be holding a strange black capsule. More on this story as it develops."

Burgh sighed as the story changed to Team Plasma, who were on the rise. It wasn't long before he turned off the television as he got up. It was about time to open up the gym today. With that thought Burgh exited his room and soon began walking to his gym. However, his interest was piqued when he noticed several people running away from the pier.

Intrigued, Burgh decided to change course and instead go to the pier. When he reached it he was extremely startled to find one of the piers being practically _swarmed_ by a large group of Gyarados. And standing on the pier, gently petting a shaking Houndoom, was a boy Burgh was pretty damn certain he had just heard about on the news.

There were several things Burgh wanted to do more than walk up to someone who had a crap load of Gyarados at his command. Still . . . one of Burgh's jobs as a gym leader was to help keep the peace. He gulped before he walked onto the pier, immediately attracting some of the Gyarados' attention. Just as he was about to rethink his approach the boy hurriedly told the Gyarados to calm down and that he'd signal for them if he needed help. To Burgh's relief the Gyarados obeyed and retreated underwater, although now he knew for certain they were listening to this child. So the attack on Cherrygrove City _had_ been planned?

But then again . . . the boy didn't look all that fierce. The only thing truly unique about him that Burgh saw was that the boy was holding a rather small black capsule in his right hand, and was holding that capsule close to his chest.

He decided to take a polite approach, casually greeting the kid. To his surprise the boy immediately smiled and returned the greeting with absolutely no hint of aggression. His Houndoom on the other hand growled menacingly at Burgh, although the boy apologized for its actions. "Sorry. Houndoom's a little irked after having to cross the ocean. She hates water."

Burgh couldn't help the smile that came to his face. He watched the Houndoom glare at him. Now that Burgh knew where to look, he could see just how shaken the Houndoom was. The poor thing was trembling on its feet, and before long it trotted a little farther onto the pier, obviously not wanting to be so close to the water. Burgh understood that a little bit. After all, his Dwebble absolutely refused to come out near the ocean.

Still, Burgh was rather surprised when the boy let out a nervous chuckle as he walked to his Houndoom and gently rubbed its back. What was going on? _This_ was the same boy that had just last night destroyed an entire _city?_ What did the news call him . . . Singed, was it? Eventually Burgh just had to ask. "Call me curious, but is your name Singed?"

He was rather amused when the boy jumped and timidly asked how Burgh knew his name. In reply Burgh explained how he had just been watching the news and heard of Cherrygrove city being razed to the ground. Burgh tried to say it so he wouldn't appear to be accusing Singed of anything, but at the same time he wanted to make it clear that the news had figured out the Gyarados involved had helped Singed escape.

The boy stiffened at that, and Burgh cringed when the Houndoom glared viciously at him. But the boy spoke quickly to Burgh. It didn't seem to be an attempt to stop Houndoom, although it _did_ stop her. Instead his quick reply seemed to be caused by . . . _guilt?_ "I-I . . . I didn't mean to . . . I mean, it wasn't technically me, a-and I never meant for it to happen, but I was in trouble and the Gyarados immediately came out to help me. I-I didn't even know they were _there_ before they emerged and began attacking."

Hmm, interesting. Burgh cocked his head as he asked about the Honchkrow, which got a timid smile out of the boy. "H-he surprised me more than the Gyarados. I only met him _once_, and that was when I accidentally knocked down his nest. I-I didn't expect him to come out and help me like he did. I mean, the Gyarados made more sense to me because I helped them out when they were Magikarp, but the _Honchkrow_ too?"

Singed scratched the back of his head as he blushed, getting Burgh to grin. "I guess knowing how aggressive a Gyarados is, that makes perfect sense. I sure as hell wouldn't dare to tell a huge group of Gyarados what they can and can't do."

"So were any people hurt?"

Burgh flinched at the unexpected question, although he gave a smile when he saw Singed twiddling his fingers. So Singed had a guilty conscience. "There were a few serious injuries, but no one was killed"

To Burgh's amusement Singed let out a large sigh of relief. Eventually the Houndoom nudged its owner's arm. Singed immediately looked at his Houndoom, and flinched after the Houndoom spoke in its language for few seconds. Singed gave an 'oh yeah' before he addressed Burgh. "Hey-uh, is this the Unova region?"

Burgh flinched at the unexpected question, although he soon confirmed it. While Singed seemed quite happy to know that Burgh suddenly heard hurried footsteps approaching them from the city. He immediately turned to look, and was surprised when a teenager with brown hair sprinted onto the pier and raced towards them. There was a rather large camera hanging from his neck by a strap.

All in all, Burgh really wasn't that surprised when Singed's Houndoom got in front of Singed and growled at the approaching teenager. The teenager apparently didn't understand the warning, considering he continued sprinting towards them with a look of . . . _delight_ in his eyes? The Houndoom responded by charging at the boy, clearly intending to cause harm.

But before the Houndoom could do anything a strange quadruped Pokémon sprinted onto the pier, quickly putting itself between Singed's Houndoom and the boy with the camera. Burgh had never seen this Pokémon before. It had long white fur, a red face with a weird scythe-like horn and green eyes. The Pokémon was clearly prepared to fight in order to defend the boy with the camera. "_**Absol!**_"

Burgh had never heard of an Absol before. While Singed and his Houndoom looked rather startled his Houndoom quickly got into a fighting stance as well, obviously ready to attack the Absol the instant it made any hostile act towards Singed.

"Oh, for - _**knock it off Absol!**_"

Both Burgh and Singed flinched as the photographer glared at the Absol. The Absol seemed rather annoyed at the photographer's command, and it began grumbling its name for quite a few seconds. When it stopped doing so the photographer spoke to it. "You do this _every single time!_ I swear, sometimes you are trying to _ruin my career!_"

The Absol began speaking to the photographer again. Burgh was rather surprised when the photographer interrupted the Absol. Could he understand what the Absol was saying? "Yes, I _know_ the Houndoom's blind in its right eye! Don't you think I can see that from here!? That makes no difference!"

"That wasn't even _close_."

Burgh and the photographer flinched before they looked at Singed, who had a rather amused look on his face. His Houndoom looked almost just as amused, and even snickered as Singed addressed the photographer. "Your friend said 'I'm trying to protect you from the dangerous situations you _invariably_ get yourself involved in. But I'm sure it doesn't matter what I say because, as you and I know, when you see a Pokémon you don't have a picture of you pursue it with no care to your own well-being.' There was no mention about Houndoom _or_ her eye."

Burgh felt like he had been struck by lightning. He had heard of people understanding simple phrases from Pokémon they knew well, but according to the startled look on the Absol's face Singed must have translated the entire thing perfectly. The Absol seemed impressed as it spoke to Singed, after which Singed smiled. "Thank you. But uhm . . . does this mean he's trying to take pictures of Houndoom?"

The Absol nodded, and Burgh was rather amused when the boy abruptly spoke to them. "Oh! Sorry, uh . . . my name's Todd Snap. I'm a Pokémon photographer. My goal is to photograph every type of Pokémon in the entire world. Here are some of my pictures!"

At this the boy grabbed out a large picture book, quickly placing it in a startled Singed's left hand. As Singed placed the capsule he was holding into a small pack on his back, probably so he could hold the book with both hands, Todd continued to speak. "I mean, I _do _have some pictures of a Houndoom, but the pictures are _really_ poor quality. And what's more_ . . ._ I mean, just _look_ at that beautiful coat of fur! I've never _seen_ a Pokémon in such healthy condition! I just, I _have_ to take pictures of this _beautiful_ thing! I may never get another chance! _Please?_"

While Singed was clearly caught off guard at the question Burgh grinned when Singed's Houndoom made her answer obvious by sitting proudly and giving a smile that showed - to Burgh's surprise - perfectly white teeth. Todd actually had a point. This Houndoom was in _superb_ condition. Singed must have taken more care of Houndoom than he did _himself_.

As Todd excitedly took pictures Burgh saw the Absol sit next to Singed, who was flipping through the book with clear shock. Burgh soon traveled over to Singed and asked how the pictures were. In reply Singed shifted his position slightly to let Burgh see the pictures as well, and Burgh flinched as he saw a picture of a Tauros charging directly at the camera. "How'd he get out of the Tauros' way after taking the picture?"

_Who said he got out of the way?_

Burgh jumped at the unexpected voice in his head, and when he turned to look at Singed he realized Singed must have heard it too. Both of them looked around, and Burgh soon saw a boy with a bandaged leg headed in their direction. Next to the boy must have been the culprit, a Gardevoir if Burgh remembered correctly. Burgh greeted the boy, who smiled as he gave a slight bow to both Burgh and Singed.

_My master can't speak, and as such I usually speak for him. His name -_

Burgh flinched when Singed abruptly let out a startled yelp and dropped the picture book. He looked very flustered as he let out a shudder, and even _Todd_ looked at him in surprise. As Singed's Houndoom immediately trotted over to Singed Todd retrieved the book and looked at the page Singed had been looking at, seeming rather confused. "What happened? It's just a picture of a Charizard attacking with Flamethrower. Heck, I couldn't get a picture of him _not_ using Flamethrower."

_Maybe that has something to do with you causing it to fall into that lava as a Charmeleon? I would have been pretty peeved at you too if you did that to me._

"Doom?"

Burgh frowned as he looked towards Singed. Whatever had happened, it clearly had unsettled him. His Houndoom seemed a bit worried as well, and it soon rubbed against Singed's leg in an obvious attempt to calm him down. While Singed flinched at the contact he soon let out a smile and rubbed Houndoom's head. "S-sorry, it just caught me by surprise."

Burgh was insanely curious, but he soon remembered why he was here. Wasn't this kid supposed to be dangerous? But he just seemed so _timid_, and now that Burgh knew the Gyarados and Honchkrow had acted independently when they had attacked Cherrygrove City . . . it wasn't like Singed had been intentionally responsible for it.

"Anyways, uh . . ."

Burgh immediately focused on Singed, who had grabbed back out the black capsule and was . . . _hugging_ it to his chest. "Houndoom and I have somewhere we need to go, and we want to get there as quickly as possible. Please excuse us."

Just like that Singed and his Houndoom walked off the dock and towards the city. Burgh was kind of amused when the photographer let out a slight groan of frustration. "But I wanted just _one_ more picture!"

The kid with the Gardevoir smiled and put a hand on Todd's shoulder. Apparently his Gardevoir was speaking to Todd. Now that Burgh understood that Singed wasn't a threat, he decided to just go to his gym and wait for challengers.

Burgh barely stepped off the pier before he saw that some policemen had stopped Singed. They probably believed what the news had said, about Singed apparently attacking Cherrygrove city with Gyarados and the Honchkrow. With a sigh Burgh changed his course so he could help Singed out.

He was still some distance away when one of the policemen reached for Singed. It looked like the intention was to restrain Singed, but Singed shied away from the man. The end result was that the man instead hit the capsule Singed was carrying with quite a bit of force, almost knocking it out of Singed's hands.

Burgh wasn't prepared for what happened next. He heard the Houndoom give a worried 'hound' as the expression on Singed's face turned _murderous_. Before anyone could react Singed brought back one of his hands and curled it into a fist, and Burgh could only watch in complete shock as Singed slugged the policeman in the face as hard as he could. The policeman staggered back, clearly not having expected such a violent reaction. But before he could recover Singed followed up with a kick to the man's stomach. Singed followed up with a roundhouse kick to the man's head, knocking the man unconscious. Burgh had to do something! Singed looked like he was angry enough to _kill_ over whatever the hell just happened.

While the other policemen charged at Singed, Burgh was caught completely off-guard when Singed's Houndoom leapt at Singed and clamped down on Singed's arm with its teeth. _Hard_. Singed immediately froze in clear shock, but his Houndoom simply started growling at him. The effect it had on the boy was impressive. All the anger in Singed's eyes just seemed to vanish, and after a few seconds his Houndoom let go. How had it calmed him down so _quickly_?

To say the least, Burgh was completely startled. He hadn't thought Singed could react so _violently_ to . . . well, _anything_. The look on his face wasn't the same timid look he had before. He now looked fiercely determined as he glared at the other startled policemen. "Think we need some help Houndoom?"

In reply his Houndoom let out a large snarl towards the policemen, knocking over three of them in one hit. At the same time Burgh paled as a great number of Gyarados emerged from the water, several of them preparing hyper beams. Oh _crap_.

Burgh gulped as he grabbed out his pokéballs. Even though his Pokémon wouldn't be that strong against the Gyarados he had no choice. The police and Burgh had to stop the Gyarados before they destroyed the entire city!

He was startled when he heard a policeman call out for Singed to halt. Burgh immediately turned to find Singed and his Houndoom were now sprinting into the city, and when that police officer tried to follow he was cut off by one of the Gyarados hyper-beaming the path between the man and Singed. The other Gyarados let their own beams strike the nearest buildings, and soon people were racing out of nearby buildings in an attempt to get away.

The resulting battle seemed to take forever. For every Gyarados taken out one more appeared to take its place. Fortunately several passing Pokémon trainers noticed the chaotic scene and came to help. Almost an hour after the fighting started Burgh's Leavanny was the only conscious Pokémon he had left, and it was too exhausted to use any more attacks.

But at the same time, the Gyarados had taken quite a bit of damage. There was only one more left, and it was clearly just as tired. Burgh cringed as he saw the remaining Gyarados prepare a hyper beam, but to his surprise a Gardevoir immediately got in front of Burgh's Leavanny and attacked the Gyarados with a powerful Psychic. Several of the trainers cheered when that final Gyarados slipped back in the water, obviously too injured to continue fighting.

Now that the threat was passed, Burgh looked at the nearby buildings. One in particular looked more like it could collapse at any moment, but for the most part the buildings were standing. So at least that was okay.

With a sigh Burgh turned his thoughts to Singed. He didn't know _what _to think anymore. Why had Singed ordered the Gyarados to attack? Why had he so violently attacked that policeman? It had something to do with the capsule, obviously, but . . .

"Absol?"

Burgh turned to find Todd Snap sitting on the ground and panting heavily. He must have gotten hit by an attack from the Gyarados. The Absol seemed rather concerned, but Todd waved away that concern as he stood up and looked at his camera. "I hope the pictures are still good."

* * *

If you looked carefully at my description of Absol, you might notice that the colors seem off. The reason is that this Absol is shiny.

Now as for Todd, he's only met in one Pokémon game and one episode of the show. I've only played the game, so I don't know exactly how he acts. So I focused his personality off of how I played the game: a naive boy that will eagerly take pictures of Pokémon no matter the danger he is in.

And I have the picture of the Charizard from the game. It was in that volcanic area, you have to hit that one Charmeleon walking around that crater filled with lave with a pesterball so he'll fall INTO the lava. It evolves and, for some odd reason, begins attacking the thing you're riding in. The hard part is catching a picture when it's not breathing fire at you. I got a LOT of pictures of it, going through that area again and again and each time forcing the Charmeleon to evolve.

I'm such an awful person XD


End file.
